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Sunday, July 29, 2007 |
Pickoff Moves
Angels Have Faith In Mathis
Here's a story from the Register about the Angels' sudden catching tandem of Jeff Mathis and Ryan Budde:"As of right now, I think we’re okay," Scioscia said of the inexperienced duo. "We’re comfortable with what Jeff can bring and what Ryan can bring. We’ll just take it one step at a time.I wonder whether Budde sees any playing time today. The Angels profess not to be worried about their catching situation, so much so that they have publicly declared their disinterest in trading for a catcher."I don’t think you would have seen Jose being traded if we didn’t have confidence in the guys in our organization bringing the piece we need."
The Angels’ options for acquiring a veteran backup at this point are limited. Earlier this week, the Mets designated 41-year-old Sandy Alomar Jr. for assignment.
"I don’t think you put all your eggs in the experience basket," Scioscia said.
Angels With Best Manager, Owner In Baseball?
Paul Oberjuerge at the San Bernardino Sun nominated Mike Scioscia as the best manager in baseball, and John Heyman thinks Arte is the best owner in the game, too.The Evolution Of Shortstops
Via Baseball Analysts, a Sports Illustrated piece by Alex Belth, just in time for the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies today, pointing to Cal Ripken as a turning point in the evolution of the modern shortstop to an offensive-minded position."As strikeout rates have increased, the value of a great fielding shortstop has diminished," points out Rich Lederer of The Baseball Analysts. "As runs scored have gone up, it has become more important to get offense out of all positions, including shortstop. Add in the fact that athletes are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever and it makes sense that the position would morph over time.""Teams won't tolerate offensive zeroes in the lineup the way they did in past eras," adds Steve Treder from The Hardball Times. From the '50s through the '70s, banjo-hitting, slick-fielding specialists such as Chico Carrasquel, Mark Belanger and Ozzie Smith were the norm; Ernie Banks was the exception.
Labels: angels, hall of fame, injuries, owners
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